Redfin Pickerel :: essays research papers

Description The Redfin pickerel has 15 to 36 dark, wavy vertical bars and reddish-o stretch outseter fins. The coloration is much the same as that of chain pickerels, a dark backward slanting bar below the eye. The snout is shorter and broader than any other pickerel. There are normally 11 to 13 branchiosstegal rays under the lower jaw. The cheek and gill covers are completely covered in scales. They weigh up to one and a half pounds, which is the world participate to this day. They have an average length from 6-10 inches with an average weight of 5 ounces. The Redfin Pickerel has a cylindrical, torpedo-shaped body with numerous sharp teeth at the point of the snout.Range The range of the Redfin pickerel is found statewide with the exception of mountain habitats.Environment They are usually found in heavy growths of aquatic plants in sluggish streams. They are excessively found in shallow coves of lakes or in ponds. They prefer water from 75 to 80 degrees. Redfin pickerels may be the dominant predator look for in small creeks. They prefer slow moving, heavily vegetated swamps and millponds.Food Small fish make up most of the Redfin pickerels diet, but they also eat aquatic insects and various(a) other invertebrates. Reproduction The Redfin pickerel spawns in the early spring as water temperature approach 50F. Spawning occurs in shallow water when the female deposits her eggs in vegetated areas where they are fertilized and left unattended. A large female may deposit as many as 4,000 eggs at one time. Some fish as small as 5 inches may release no more than 400 eggs. They become sexually mature by at to the lowest degree age two. No parental care is given to the eggs.Unique characteristics The Redfin pickerel has numerous sharp teeth in a relatively pointed snout making it suddenly designed for its ambush-type-feeding behavior. Due to small size, sport fishing for this species is limited to coastal areas where the ideal habitat for growth exists. This fis h is highly prized by many low country natives who grew up eating this sweet flavored fish.